Successful Ageing in West Footscray: An Accessible and Affordable Housing Model

In the context of West Footscray, where an ageing demographic, with a quarter of the population over 50, is projected to triple for those over 60 by 2041, this proposition arises. It seeks to respond to the urgent call for age-friendly apartments within the inner-ring suburbs of Victoria.

 

The project site, located along Church Street, between Oxford Street and Tucker Street, currently comprises a series of similar solitary dwellings sheltered within leafy surroundings. The aim here is to liberate these houses from their “cotton-wool protection and arbitrary isolation”, as contemplated by the sagacious Robin Boyd in 1972, and to orchestrate a balance between the expanse of openness and isolation, and the rhythm of distance and intimacy. 

 

By demolishing four separated houses, the proposed apartment block aims to not only establish a community where the elderly can call home, but also seek to activate and respect the surrounding area through:

 

1. Establishing a much-needed morning cafe and health clinic along Church St.

2. Sustaining the rhythm of the streets on Oxford and Tucker St by respecting the street setbacks of the neighbouring houses.